Thrifty Tips || How To Create A Perfect Playroom For Your Kids

A playroom can be a place where your kids can learn and play in a dedicated space. Having a playroom in the home can be a real advantage to parents. It means that the house can get back to some normality. It can mean that some of the rooms can turn into a grown up space again. It’s easy to create a wonderful playroom space for your children on a budget. Just take the following tips and advice into considerations.

Plan what you want to do.

The first thing to do would be to get a plan in place. Work out which room is going to be made into a playroom. Take this opportunity to write down everything that needs to be done to the room. This is every job from the big things to the small finer details. This allows you to work out your timescale and also what funds need to be spent if any. You may want to consider how you are going to use the space. Will there be a place dedicated to reading? Will you have comfortable seating? Will the children eat a snack and things in there? If they will, do you need to think about a table for this?

There’re lots to consider but it’s worth investing the time. This is where you can save some money in the long run. Having a plan and knowing what you need to spend will avoid any unforeseen costs at a later stage.

✓ Budget Tip 1 - Preparation is key to keeping any spend required to a minimum. Getting quotes for some of the bigger jobs and haggling down the price is another way to save money.

Save any funds needed.

Once you have your plan in place, you will have a much better idea on the finance side of things. You may be frugal or your room might require no expenditure. But you may need to invest in some new things for the room, decoration and flooring. This is where you will need to save money. A good idea would be to get quotes for different things and try and save any extra money. You could also search out things you need on websites like eBay. Charity shops are also a place to go and see what things you can get your hand on. You can pick up some real bargains in there.

✓ Budget Tip 2 - Any extra funds could come in handy. Start saving change in piggy banks. Or save every £2 or £1 coin in particular jars. Change can add up over time and most of the time it’s money you don’t really miss. Saving plans that require you to put amounts like £1 a day away are also useful and over time allows you to save quite a bit.

Think about the furnishings and furniture.

You have your plan, and you know what money you need. Now you can think about the furnishings that the playroom will need. Will it need lots of comfy chairs and seats, or is it just a few key pieces?

Working out the functionality of the room in your plans will determine exactly the type of furnishings you need for the room. You may just want to invest in some beanbags or find ottoman footstools to work with current sofas or chairs. You may also want to think about cushions or blankets and any lighting required in the room.

You might also want to give some old furniture a new lease of life by doing a little bit of upcycling. This is where you can save yourself a lot of money. Also hunting furniture out in charity shops and adding a bit of personality and function to it.

✓ Budget Tip 3 - Use older furniture as much as you can. By adding a quick coat of paint, you will add a whole new lease of life to it.

Will the room be multi-functional?

Do you plan on using the playroom for when friends come to stay? Then a good idea would be to have a sofa bed or fold away bed. A playroom can be the perfect place to host kids sleepovers. Or keep it as an option just incase anybody requires a place to stay.

You can get some great options these days that are easy to use and fold away without any problems. The fold away beds that attach to a wall are particularly space savings if you don’t have a big room to work with. The playroom may also be a space where your children do their homework. So you may want to consider a desk area or computer.

✓ Budget Tip 4 - Investing to make the space multi-functional now, could save you money in the future.

What about storage?

A playroom requires a lot of clever storage. Otherwise, it could end up looking cluttered and messy all of the time. Of course, you don’t want the children not to enjoy playing in there. But good storage will allow them to get the most out of it.

Canvas storage boxes and holders are always a real popular choice for kids toys and items. You could also consider cupboard spaces and draws to tidy things away. Plastic storage boxes are also a good choice. As is a good old-fashioned toy box. Storage will allow you to go in at the end of the day and get some order into the room. Ready for another day of play. If you wanted to be a little more frugal here why not use some of the existing storage out of your children's bedrooms. Storing the toys in the playroom will also free up some space in their rooms for other things.

✓ Budget Tip 5 - People can go over the top when purchasing storage so the best advice would be to shop smart. Buying one larger storage unit could work out cheaper than buying lots of smaller storage solutions. Shelves are also a cost effective way of creating space for items without costing too much money.

A chance to dispose of unwanted toys or items.

If you are transferring toys into the playroom, then this is the perfect opportunity to have a good sort through. You could donate or sell old or unwanted toys. Maybe ones they have grown out of. Generating some funds to go towards new things.

There isn’t any point in storing toys that no longer get played with. So it’s a nice heartwarming thing to do to donate to those less fortunate and let someone else get some joy from them. A good declutter is always refreshing.

✓ Budget Tip 6 - Selling toys on sites like eBay, that you no longer require or need, is a great way of generating some extra funds to go towards this project.

Is there a theme?

You may also want to consider whether or not your room has a theme. You could take some inspiration from your children's favourite things. Or maybe they have particular TV characters they would like to incorporate into their new playroom. A theme could also be a colour scheme.

What colours to consider?

Your colour scheme could have a lot to do with your theme. You may want a particular colour scheme to match the rest of the rooms in your home. Or you might want to consider something a little more trendy like monochrome.

You might even want to use your children's favourite colours and create a bright and wonderful space for them to be creative.

✓ Budget Tip 7 - Use left over paint to save on cost. So when considering colours think abut what you already have.

Decoration.

Decorating the playroom doesn’t have to be expensive. You could pick one colour or a few different ones. You may only need to decorate one wall to make it a feature.

If you do these types of jobs yourself, you will always save money. Another great idea would be to get your children involved and decorate the room with their artwork. If you are brave, let them paint pictures on the walls directly. You could also purchase wall paper that allows your children to draw and be creative.

Another option would be to decorate one wall with chalk paint. This could be a place for your kids to be creative or allow you to put messages on there.

✓ Budget Tip 8 - You could also ask your kids to paint something on some paper and stick that to the walls with washi tape to give it a unique look.

Think about flooring.

A playroom floor needs to be durable. So it would be recommended to consider a wooden flooring. You may not want to replace what you have. If that is the case, you could purchase foam floor tiles to cover the floor. This will be a soft surface for your kids to play but will also protect the floor underneath.

Does it need any gadgets?

Finally, does the playroom require any gadgets. Things like a CD Player or television. A TV could be fitted to the wall to save on space. It could mean the playroom could also be a place for your children to relax in. Things like iPads and music players could also be handy in there. Making the room very user-friendly.

I hope this guide helps you create the perfect playroom on a budget for your family.